Bad Financial News Keeps Pouring In: 14 Facts That Just Might Scare The Living Daylights Out Of You

By Michael Snyder, on October 4th, 2011

Will the bad financial news ever stop? A lot of people in the financial world were hoping for a much better fourth quarter after an absolutely disastrous third quarter. Well, if Monday was any indication, October could end up being a really rough month for global financial markets. So much bad financial news keeps pouring in that it really is a challenge to try to keep track of it all. Greece seems to get closer to defaulting on their debts with each passing day, and it appears that Germany is not going to contribute any more bailout money beyond what they have already committed to. Major banks on both sides of the Atlantic are on the verge of collapse, and investors all over the world are afraid that we may have another “Lehman Brothers moment” soon. Shares of American Airlines dropped a staggering 33 percent on Monday as rumors that they will soon be entering bankruptcy swirled. Yes, things certainly are getting interesting. Back in 2008, the governments of the western world saved the financial system with gigantic bailouts that were absolutely unprecedented. If the financial system crashes again at some point in the coming weeks or months, will the political will for more bank bailouts be there? If not, what is going to happen to the banking system?

On both sides of the Atlantic, the big banks are highly leveraged, they have taken on a ton of risk and they are very deeply exposed to derivatives. It is as if virtually nobody learned any lessons during the financial crisis of 2008. Once again we are facing a situation where if a couple of financial dominoes fall it could send dozens of others tumbling to the ground.

Some very significant things happened on Monday. But the media has gotten so used to reporting on tremendous financial instability that Monday’s events mostly got brushed to the side. Instead, Amanda Knox captured most of the headlines.

But the reality is that some really, really monumental stuff has been going down.

The following are 14 facts that just might scare the living daylights out of you….

#1 On Monday, the Dow was down 258 points. Lately it seems as though the Dow has been going up or down by several hundred points almost every single day, and that much volatility is not a good sign for the health of the financial system.

#2 Shares of Wall Street banking giant Morgan Stanley fell by another 8 percent on Monday. Overall, shares of Morgan Stanley have declined by more than 50 percent since February.

#3 Bank of America stock dropped down to $5.53 a share on Monday. Just a few years ago, it was trading for more than $50 a share.

#4 There are reports that Goldman Sachs may actually show a loss for the third quarter of 2011 and that yearly bonuses for employees may be slashed to next to nothing. Yes, not too many people are going to have sympathy for Goldman Sachs, but this just shows how bad things are getting out there for the big Wall Street banks.

#5 Normally Goldman Sachs is quite upbeat, but lately they have been coming out with some really frightening reports. For example, a new report from Goldman Sachs declares that there is a 40 percent chance that we are entering a “Great Stagnation“.

#6 Shares of European banking giant Dexia plunged by about 10 percent on Monday on rumors that it will soon need a significant bailout. The stocks of major banks all across Europe have been getting absolutely hammered for weeks.

#7 Shares of American Airlines fell by 33 percent on Monday on rumors that the airline is about to enter bankruptcy. Amazingly, trading in the stock was stopped 7 different times on Monday.

#8 It is being reported that approximately 240 pilots for American Airlines have retired in the last two months alone. All of those pilots are retiring so that they can shield their pensions from the upcoming bankruptcy filing.

#10 Overall, U.S. stocks fell by 14 percent during the third quarter of 2011, and now the fourth quarter is off to a very rocky start.

#11 The incoming head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, has publicly admitted that major European banks are having “funding problems“. Just like back in 2008, we are rapidly heading for a giant “credit crunch”.

#12 A shocking new Bloomberg survey has found that approximately one out of every three international investors expects a “global economic meltdown” within the next 12 months, and 70 percent of them believe that the global economy is “deteriorating”. Perhaps they have been reading The Economic Collapse Blog too much.

#13 Financial markets in Europe were rocked on Monday when it was revealed that Greece is not going to hit the deficit reduction targets set for it either this year or next year despite all of the severe austerity measures that have already been implemented. Needless to say, a lot of financial authorities in Europe were very displeased by this news.

The truth is that the political will for more bailouts has totally dried up in Germany.

The recent vote by the Bundestag to approve money for the European rescue fund should not be misinterpreted.

That vote simply approved money that was part of a deal that was agreed to over two months ago.

What is more important is what many major German politicians said after the vote. Essentially, the overwhelming consensus is that Germany is done contributing money. Once the money is gone from the current bailout pool (which is not anywhere close to what is really needed), there will be no more money from Germany.

That means that the era of the bailouts in Europe is drawing to a close.

In a recent editorial, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard described the situation in Germany in this manner….

The furious debate over the erosion of German fiscal sovereignty and democracy – as well as the escalating costs of the EU rescue machinery – has made it absolutely clear that the Bundestag will not prop up the ruins of monetary union for much longer.

Horst Seehofer, the leader of Bavaria’s Social Christians, said his party would go “this far, and no further”.

Let that last phrase sink in.

Basically, what politicians all over Germany are saying is that Germany has now done all that it is going to do.

The implications of this are huge.

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard recognized this in his editorial. In fact, the usually reserved journalist actually used all caps for six straight sentences and broke out some very strong language that is very uncharacteristic for him….

Repeat after me:

THERE WILL BE NO FISCAL UNION.

THERE WILL BE NO EUROBONDS.

THERE WILL BE NO DEBT POOL.

THERE WILL BE NO EU TREASURY.

THERE WILL BE NO FISCAL TRANSFERS IN PERPETUITY.

THERE WILL BE A STABILITY UNION – OR NO MONETARY UNION.

Get used to it. This is the political reality of Europe, since nothing of importance can be done without Germany. All else is wishful thinking, clutching at straws, and evasion. If this means the euro will shed some members or blow apart – as it almost certainly does – then the rest of the world must prepare for the day.

Basically, this is his way of saying that “the sky is falling” and that the financial system of Europe is doomed.

If you have followed the writing of Ambrose Evans-Pritchard for any length of time, then you know that he is one of the most respected financial journalists in the world and that he is not prone to indulge in much “doom and gloom”. For him to say what he did is very significant.

But even if there were no financial problems in Europe, the United States would probably be slipping into another recession anyway.

Some of the pronouncements are so bold that you would think that some half-crazed blogger wrote them. For example, just check out the following quote from a report recently put out by the Economic Cycle Research Institute….

“Here’s what ECRI’s recession call really says: If you think this is a bad economy, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

But do the American people really need some experts to tell them that we are going into another recession?

The American people know what is going on.

According to one recent poll, 90 percent of the American people believe that economic conditions in the United States are “poor”. According to another recent poll, 80 percent of the American people believe that we are actually in a recession right now.

So perhaps the American people are actually ahead of most of the so-called “experts”.

In any event, economic conditions in the United States continue to get worse. The average American family is having a harder and harder time getting to the end of each month. According to a Harris Interactive survey taken near the end of last year, 77 percent of all Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck. In 2007, the same survey found that only 43 percent of Americans were living paycheck to paycheck.

At least Barack Obama is not talking so much about an “economic recovery” these days. When asked recently if Americans are better off today than they were four years ago, Obama said the following….

“Well, I don’t think they’re better off than they were four years ago.”

Finally, something that we can all agree with Barack Obama about.

Sadly, things are about to get even worse.

Pay close attention to all of the bad financial news that keeps pouring in.

Just like in 2008, something really big is happening.

When the current bailout fund in Europe runs out in a few months, things could really start to unravel.

If Greece (or any other eurozone nation for that matter) defaults, it could set off a chain of financial events so catastrophic that it just might scare the living daylights out of all of us.

Let us hope for the best, but let us also prepare for the worst.

Tremendous fear and panic has gripped the financial world, and the underlying problems causing this crisis are not going to be solved any time soon.

God wants each & every one of us to turn to Him!! If we each used our free will to obey God.. We would not be in this mess!!

007

At the end of the day, that is what this is all about.

George

Micheal, you did’nt mention the markets in China n Japan. Their banks lost too. Is their a pinpoint on the Greek default, that will be a day to watch! Global markets are really spinning in a vortex of a vacume. I’m actually hear my customers aware of whats going on more then ever. At least people are starting to “gear up”, the writing is on the wall, so to speak. The area here are full of preppers and self sustainers, I wonder how many other comunnitys are doing the same?

joshua10

There’s no such thing as too much Economic Collapse Blog! Keep it coming!

#8 It is being reported that approximately 240 pilots for American Airlines have retired…

#9 Nearly the entire airline industry got hit really hard on Monday…

Thank You TSA!

Nickelthrower

Greetings,

I agree with you on the TSA part. We will take any option rather than fly. I’ve cut my flying back by 80% because I just can’t stand all the hassles involved in flying. I hate being treated like a criminal by these clowns.

I want you people to think about this for a second. People on the No Fly List are not allowed on an aircraft even though all parties involved know that the person in front of them poses no threat what-so-ever. They know this because they’ve searched the person, checked him for explosive residue, sexually molested him and searched his private possession. Still, this person is way tooooo dangerous to be allowed on an airplane but then they are turned back loose into the general population. That doesn’t make any sense? If someone is sooooo dangerous as to not be allowed on an aircraft then why would they immediately turn them back loose? WTF?

The whole thing is a sick joke.

mark

You had best get prepared. I sure hope that these control freaks do not stay in power much longer. Our Founding Fathers must be weeping or saying we warned you about what not to do. This time the British are not coming, the progresives are here.

Barack is a hero. He is willing to take the fall for what has been put in place for decades before him. He is just trying to get everybody working forward in the right direction. It’ll never happen, of course–too many Repubs want to take advantage of it as a sign of “weakness”. What a bunch of fools!

r.bitting

” But know this, in the last days perilous times will come; For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters,proud,blasphemers,disobedient to parents,unthankful,unholy, unloving, unforgiving,slanderers,without self control,brutal, despisers of good,traitors,headstrong,haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying it’s power, and from such people turn away”…. 2 Timothy 3:1-5

shypuffadder

The Wall Street employees that were drinking champagne on the balconies are going to be forced to regurgitate that champagne today… finally, some hands-on action to “fix” this economy that Congress will want to take credit for. In the meantime, take a hint from the American Airlines pilots and do what is necessary to protect your pension – that money is like taking candy from a baby.

Save the Republic

Opt out of spending money on anything you can that’s part of the system. Obviously we all need food, utilities, gas, etc. But, give the government and the elite bankers/corporate kingpins as little as possible. Starve the beast! Don’t buy anything you don’t need for survival or prepping. Try using yard sales, consignment shops, flea markets, etc., for things you do need. Make your own food, and never go to the corporate chain restaurants if you eat out. Cut off sales taxes for the govt. and money to the corporations. They are the ones that are making our lives and our future generations lives hell, so stick it to them as best you can…OPT OUT!

Bone Idle

# 13. How can financial markets in Europe be shocked that Greece would not meet their financial target reductions when every man and his dog knows that Greece will default?

An Australian politician once coined the phrase. “This is the recession we had to have” – in reference to the early nineties.

Goldman Sachs should be now saying “This is the depression we have to have”.

The great “Growth” and “Debt” Ponzsi scheme is nearing it’s ultimate conclusion.

Here in NC

“Something really big is happening”- Michael you are correct. Only a handful of us realize the ground is rumbling and soon the world is going to explode. Everyone else is going to have the “deer in the headlight look” and they will have absolutely no idea what is happening to them. That, my friend, is a sad situation. I tell who I can- some listen and some look at me like I am crazy (which I could care less). I can’t thank you enough for what you do- please keep up the excellent work!

Michael

Here in NC:

Thank you so much for the kind words. I spend a whole lot of hours on this site and it is good to know that the work is appreciated. 🙂

Michael

Cali-Prepper

Thank you for your ongoing efforts to keep us all posted regarding events and stats we wouldn’t hear of in MSM. I also saw an article last week via The Advisory Board re concerns of mass layoffs pending at various hospitals nationwide due to cuts to Medicare – tens of thousands. Thru attrition, not replacing those who have retired, etc.

Matt

INFLATE OR DIE. The global elitist banksters will choose INFLATE. Simple choice really. Would you choose to die when you have a chance to live longer? There will be more bailouts – you can take that to the bank.

Peter

STANKOV’S UNIVERSAL LAW, people , go to this web site and you will underenstand why the total economic collapse will come in 2011.

muddy 1

Aren’t we cheery this morning?

DCV

I still need someone to explain more in-depth on why such an insignificant economy such as Greece’s has the potential for such doom and gloom. It would be like saying “if Mississippi defaults, it could spell the end of the United States!”

However, I’m still in the camp that all of this fear is being drummed up in anticipation of an engineered “collapse” that will merely be used to justify a global currency and eliminate the concept of the nation-state. I only pray that this transition happens without bloodshed and that we all don’t become slaves to the ones who engineered this debacle…

Um hello

Just because you dont understand it doesn’t mean it’s all engineered. And it wouldn’t be “if Mississippi…” it’s more like “if California…”

Jean

Really, I don’t understand it either so could you please explain a bit more why you have that opinion?

I’ve had the same thoughts as DCV, more or less. Also, despite the fact a lot of people HATE California, I believe it’s still a source of a lot of the fruits and vegetables we get in this country.

I can’t think of anything in particular Mississippi produces or why Greece would be especially important to Europe’s economy? What are we missing??

thinman

when Greece defaults, the banks in italy, spain, france and others can say goodbye to their money and will in their turn default, the general public will also start withdrawing their money en masse.
no matter how strong the economies of the northern european countries
might be the risk is big that banks of these countries might also collaps.
greece has unofficially defaulted, that u can be sure of. the problem is u cannot make it official untill they secure the banks in all the european continent to avoid a bank rush.

The Unicorn

Greece is the largest shipper in the world just google( merchant navy) then divide ships by the population in Greece and you’ll get an idea of what could happen.

Why a Greece default matters is that all the banks in Europe/ other places Buy assets to loan money against. These assets are then leveraged. Then loans are made against them. If Greece defaults the bank looses that leverage and will fall below the minimum asset requirements for the loans they have out. so they will call in loans and sell assets, all the banks will have to do this and crash prices and cause more debt to be realized as bad causing the need for more selling to raise capital. if this selling / bank failing causes investors to not buy the bonds of other European nations they will also default and start the whole cycle again with another larger country but instead no bail outs are coming and it keeps going until the debtor nations are wiped out.

@DCV, the thing is that the world’s financial system is so interconnect that of one piece falls then it creates a domino effect. European and American banks has huge exposure to the Greek banks and if they fall then the other banks won’t be able to handle the massive losses and will also fall.

Banks are so over leveraged right now and something like a Greece default will light the fuse for the biggest financial bomb any of us has ever seen.

You do realize that this blog is written by ONE PERSON, who does a phenomenal job at research day in and day out. Who cares if he drops in a couple of extra bits of emphasis, except the ones who aren’t interested in the message — and why are they wasting precious time reading it in the first place?

It’s REALLY REALLY REALLY all about the content, but if making inance comments makes you feel more intelligent, go right ahead.

And you know what else? If it’s good enough for Shrek, it’s good enough for me, “really, really”.

Save the Republic

Richard-

If you don’t like the writing, why don’t you start your own blog? If you are really, really, really, much better, better, better, what the hell are you doing here just being critical? The world is waiting to be astounded by your perfect intelligence and wisdom, so what are you waiting for? Go get em, tiger.

The Cabal Has Destroyed Our Buying Power

But for the $16 TRILLION the FED pumped into any entity that could fog a mirror including foreign banks and businnesses, we would of blown the system in 2008. Today we do not have that luxury, as we shot the wad back then. The only reason we know this is because Bloomberg filed a FOIA which the FED fought tooth and nail until it had to give up the information requested by way of a court order.

Excellent data points and information. It should now be clear to everyone that we’ve entered unprecedented territory. The leaders of the Western world are telling us the economic system is about to fall apart, yet the majority of the citizenry chooses to ignore it, burying their heads in the sand as deep as they possibly can. What we are talking about here is the collapse of entire nations and the world’s premier currencies. It is time for individuals to insulate themselves and their families from the coming financial destruction and political strife. There is simply no way that governments will be able to provide support and relief to the hundreds of millions of people who will be affected by lost jobs, falling wages, and wiped out pensions. Historically, these types of events never end well for the common man.

Michael

SHTF Mac:

Great to hear from you!

By the way, I love your site.

Michael

Paul

Is it time for the UN to send Peace Keepers to New York?

Paul

Germany needs the Euro.
Germany depends on exports.
If the Euro is scrapped and the DeutschMark shoots up to heaven, who will be able to afford DeutschMarks to buy German goods?
All the export markets of Germany, except Switzerland, will be gone.

Then, Germany will go into depression. The last time that happened, Germany started a war to get cheap slaves from Eastern Europe.

007

Germany has been through a lot worse in its history than losing the euro. I think it can handle it. I admire them not getting sucked into the economic blackmail madness.

jerry O

history always repeats itself.

Here is what I learned from a
millionaire about the 7 stages
economies go through and how
to profit like the ultra rich
during times of economic chaos.

Gee, this
typing of
opinions
in narrow
columns is
fun
I’ll bet
people
are even
reading
the crap
I’ve just
written

Jane

90% don’t give a crap. I set out one day to talk to as many people as possible about our failing economy, looming food/gas hikes, hyperinflation worries, ect…..you know what? They don’t care, know or believe anything. One woman who worked at a 7-11, after being asked her opinion on 5-6 dollar gas next spring said: “it’s ok I got Obama”……

Otown Right Guy

If I try to talk economics with most anyone I get blank stares. Americans will engage you in talk about TV shows or sports, but if you try to cover a subject which involves abstract thinking they get bored quickly. Some will talk about politics but only on the most superficial level (i.e. Democrats good/ Republicans bad or vice versa). Idiocracy is the future. The future is now.

Cheryl

Once again you open with a very long laborious paragraph. You need to summarize what you’re about to write in a much shorter paragraph and support it in the following 2-3 paragraphs. Stop messing with the grammatical rules of basic high school level writing. Who do you think you are?

Michael

I am someone that didn’t pay attention to the rules in English class. 🙂

Michael

Maria

Ha Ha Ha ROFLOL! Swing for the fences, Michael!

Tripseven

Well Said! I’m in there with you!

TX Momma

Grammar Smammer. Proper sentence structure will not save us for what is coming. Keep on keeping on Michael. We appreciate all your hard work.

Is you the police of language? Isa hopes so. Many on this blog is stupid but not you . No, you sure one smart lady.

Seriously, I don’t come to this blog to figure out how to write or speak correct Grammar. I come here for a good education in what is going on in the financial world. I would rather be in the fox hole with people like Michael than you. As I would be screaming all my profanities at the enemy you would be trying to correct my grammar instead of helping me out. As The Optimist said “get your own blog to micromanage.”

No, we haven’t learned. 2008 should have taught us, but not many people listened. The sound was deafening. Bear Stearns – THUD! Lehman Brothers – KABOOOOM! AIG… SPLAT! And still, three years later, they’re playing the same games on Wall Street.

Just like a bad Halloween movie, debt has come back to haunt us. This time around, it’s even wearing a ski mask and carrying a hatchet!

mondobeyondo

Is Obama better off than he was 4 years ago?

Yes.

Four years ago, Obama was an Illinois senator fighting Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, and John McCain for the presidency. Now he’s President Obama, Mr. Hope and Change (ugh… pass the Pepto Bismol!), Conqueror of Terrorists, America’s Physician (thank you Obamacare!), Creator of Jobs, and so forth and so on.

So, HE’S doing well. The rest of us? Not so well. No need to re-hash the stats. You all know about the unemployment rate, child poverty rate, etc.

Is it time for a change? Be careful. Think twice.
America asked the same question in 2008. We collectively said “yes”. Look where we’re at now.

Here is why the “Occupy Wall Street” movement is practically totally ineffective, and
therefore, very likely will be promoted, by TPTB (the powers that be) – central bankers, as a false/fake ‘reform’ movement:

“Any “reform” movement that does not target the fundamental problem of printing-money-
from-nothing is not going to be very effective. The plethora of information about the sociopolitical and economic manipulations of the 20th century shows us clearly that Money Power
has been used by the powers-that-be to penetrate every aspect of civil society in the West.
The goal is one-world government (by force) and this effort will be continued so long as the
funding mechanism remains.”

Stocks are dropping again today!!!!! You mentioned in the article that even know the stock market is dropping 100’s of point per day, we hardly hear a peep about it from our major news outlets like FOX and CNN. Well its quite simple really… If they were to report about it honestly, with the proper intensity than it would cause the economic fear to go thru the roof which would kill the corporate medias bottom line.. Since they are lay down dancing with other big corporate entities in what I would call a monetary orgy there primary focus is damage control. Most of the time major media tries to raise the fear level of almost any situation. Just watch your local news next time there is a tornado watch, snow storm, or hurricane. They exacerbate the fear intentionally to improve ratings. Remember the war on terror????????? That scared me and i’m fearless. The only exception to there fear mongering is from an economic stand point. They are sugar coating turds during an economic blizzard so there stock holdings stay as high as possible. Folks if that isn’t proof that true journalism is on life support than I don’t know what to tell ya. One thing is certain. The horse shat is stacked twice as high as the barn. Perty soon were all gonna need hip boots on stilts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

kalord kuntz

God is giving warning at http://www.formypeople.org that new economic laws are about to be passed that will shake the faith of many. This message was given to ernie knoll in the dream entitled “ENTERTAINMENT VS. TRUTH”

Patriot One

I think it will all come apart faster then anyone predicts. The Fed is trying to prop up the system but it’s not working like it use to becauseof all the debt.

Good luck to all

Shepherd

Psalm 37

1Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

2For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

3Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

4Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

5Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

6And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

7Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

8Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

9For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.

10For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.

11But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

12The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.

13The LORD shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.

14The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.

15Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.

16A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.

17For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.

18The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.

19They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

20But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

21The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.

22For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.

23The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

24Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.

25I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

26He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.

27Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.

28For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.

29The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.

30The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.

31The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

32The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.

33The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.

34Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.

35I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.

36Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.

37Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.

38But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.

39But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.

40And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.

We are facing what is essentially the entire reset of the global financial system that has been abused past the point of no return. Everyone on the planet is in this game whether they realize it or not, and when the final whistle blows, you’re either going to end up wealthier than you can imagine, or you’re going to lose everything. The only factor that will determine which group you’re in, is knowledge… Do you know what’s happening, and do you know how to turn it into opportunity?
My Goal Is To End Up On The Winning Side,
And To Help As Many People As I Can To Do The Same… It is essential to get informed: http://theelevationgroup.net/presentation/register.php?a_aid=a6affed9&a_bid=290b868b

Jeremy

A few comments and observations:

* It is interesting that the ECB is getting another head. Christine Legarde has held this position for only a few years I believe.
* The BLS will release the new jobs report for September 2011 next week.
* What is happening in Europe with the potential collapse of the EU should have happened in 2008. Like the US, they made the problem worse with these bailout funds. Disunion may be the best thing to happen, as economic cohesion within the EU was always difficult because of differences in domestic political systems, industries, banking practices, economic performances, etc.
* I am not ready to panic yet. The world was at the brink in the late 1930s, late 1970s, and there was the political will to bring it back from the brink. IMO the people of this world still have the will to change their circumstances. Look at the German people in response to Merkel’s bailout proposals and greater EU integration, Chinese students in response to their government budget deficits, and attempt of the American people to change the political culture of DC in the November 2010 elections (like it or not classical liberals, who predominatly occupy the right wing of the Republican party, are these people).

We are not done yet. Our world will probably look different (my life looks different from my parents and grandparents, but I am getting work, and make progress every day), but that does not mean we are doomed.

All Ponzi schemes hit a wall they can’t hurdle. The bailout plans were a Ponzi scheme in 2008, and people are tired of getting fleeced. There is no honor in Debt & Promises. History beats fraud to a bloody pulp, every time.

Thirty years of Crony Capitalism and look what it got us. And the astounding thing is, we are still better off than Iran: religious maniacs, who act as if they were practicing Devil Worshipers, are not arresting, torturing, raping and killing our children by lynching them and stoning them. So in at least one very serious way, we are still very blessed by God.

DeathSpiral

The Anonymous latest broadcast is creating quite a stir. I guess we’ll know next Monday one way or the other!

God help us all if they can actually pull that off. Not knowing who those people are makes the unknown worse. They could be a collection of very wealthy people (Or spooky Dude Soros himself) that actually can do it for all we know.

Don’t need so many sentences to say what Germany (and other northern members) is saying. The Eurozone was formed with fiscal and economic sovereignty untouched. No member is obliged to bail out any other member. These were spelled out in the treaty. Germany is just saying:

Stick to it.

And if you can’t stick to it and apply for exit.

Juswakinup

Many Americans “know” the economy is bad…they know what’s coming…but the question is…Are they prepared?

I am not an expert and not economist; however, I had grown up in several bad and worse economic situation and somehow I have a very bad feeling it is coming even in US there is no hungry as I know that is NON of American know how to have a feeling of hungry because we are so rich, but some how I am planning to have enough food and drink for my little family. I am preparing for the worse and hope for the best.

Shocktober

The month of October or shocktober as it has been called by some, is the Month of horror filled Halloween nightmarish events.
The hellish nightmare about to be unleash upon the world thanks to our greedy world politicians and corporate greed will be known as the; “shocktober Economic event”
Coming to city near you.

D

I brew my own Oktoberfest beer annually. This year, I did call is Shocktoberfest. It always gets good conversations going – all against me, of course.

The next shockwave will happen this winter when few retail stores brink out of the red during the holiday season. The retails stores count on it every year – most are in the red until Thanksgiving arrives.

r.bitting

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING, in all your ways aknowledge HIM and HE will direct your path.

shypuffadder

Michael, there is no need for you to get all wrapped up in the elements of style, basic high school writing and all that. We look forward to reading your work, and we understand you very clearly. That is what is important.

I think the media is withholding information from the masses because they don’t want us to begin wondering if we should take our money out of the banks. That would be a death blow that must be avoided at ALL costs.

Christians for Israel

I see some similarities with the threat of America Falling and Revelations 18 (Babylon The Great is Destroyed) Many would like to believe this doesnt refer to America but it seems clear as day to me.

JD

Scary is doing the bills every month for the american family. Three of us spent $900 on groceries last month. If we had to buy our meat it might have been much higher. How are people making it? What are people eating? A package of hamburger buns is almost four dollars. Hamburger meat has almost doubled in 3 years. Everytime I go to the store peoples sadness is barely contained. The Down was up 152 today. Yay. Im so happy. I hope those stockbrokers that poured champagne on the protesters get theirs. They cant keep stomping on us and getting away with it. Their time is almost at an end. Now that Im working again I get to look forward to paying off thousands of dollars of debt. Yay. Im even more happy. ” I knew the storm was getting closer, and all my friends said I was high, but everything we’ve ever known here, I never wanted it to die.” – Guns N’ Roses.

Hello JD, My family and I became vegetarians and started eating natural healthier food. It is a lot cheaper. And we don’t have to take their medicines go to their hospitals and eat their slop. Buy some cheap gold.

Matt 278

I find that hard to believe. If you buy healthy foods at the supermarket it ends up costing almost a third more. I’ve done the math. Look at everything that is on sale! Cola’s, chips, cakes, and snacks. When are fruits and veggies ever on sale? It is only my wife and I and we spend an average of 120 at the supermarket every time we go.

Moneygone fast

We know what you are talking about JD,
We Had to buy groceries and cloths for work just the two of us … no kids.
The money was gone so fast over $400. on a few simple basic items, (food, cloths, shoes), gone in a day.
i thought to myself, how are people on minimum wage or part time wages getting by?
Then it occurred to me.
alot of Americans are doing without the basics.

Bob from Cleveland

Where are you buying hamburger buns for $4? Check the shelves for a better price. Try $1.25 for generic.

Jean

I’ve been dirt poor myself (a single parent at 18), and I’ve gone hungry and been homeless also… so I understand some of what you’re talking about. Some strategies I’ve discovered for serious economizing with food are:

1) Think peasant food. That includes meals like homemade soups or stews with homemade bread; yummy, good for you, and cheap. Some places you can get free beef bones (ask the butcher if they have any bones for your “dog”). I once had a party where I fed 20 people on a Polish soup (kapusta) that was made from 1 head of cabbage, a small can of sauerkraut, 1 onion – and a loaf of pumpernickel bread with a dip of sour cream mixed with a little milk. It was a hit!

2) Fill up with a base of lots of the cheaper fresh veggies & fruit – such as: bananas, apples, sometimes oranges (depends on season and where you live), onions, lettuce, carrots, potatoes. If you have any kind of wild berries in your area, pick them and use them (with land owners permission and be sure you know what they are)

3) Go meat free for some of your meals. If you are not used to this go gradually, but if you can get up to 1/2 your meals either meat free or very low meat you could save a lot.
Explore the following options as your “main dish”:
* rice & beans (lots of recipes from many cuisines)
* homemade Boston baked beans are much yummier than canned although they take a long time to cook (8 hrs, but on very low and if you bake them overnight in winter you can reduce you heat!)
* eggs (as an example of very low meat = 1-2 slices of bacon fried then crumbled, mix into a family sized portion of scrambled eggs before cooking – or a small amount of grated cheese)
*another egg idea is slice & fry up an onion & some potatoes – when they are cooked, add eggs (raw, stirred up and cook like scrambled eggs) mixed with a little Mayo which adds flavor. It’s very filling and tasty – I’ve heard that called “Western supper”
* creamed tuna on rice or mashed potatoes with peas
* Mexican food from scratch (sort of) – canned refried beans with a little salsa & shredded cheese on a friend large burrito. 1 or 2 per person is a meal, especially with a salad.
*pasta with plain butter & grated cheese, or add spaghetti sauce without meat (make your own) rather than meat sauce

4) skip soda, substitute water or a 1/2-1/2 mix of soda water + your favorite juice. Cheaper than juice, cheaper than soda, and equally refreshing.

5) a method I don’t much enjoy but it saves money: instead of all fresh milk, make up some dry milk and mix 1/2 with fresh milk. Tastes better than all dry milk, but cheaper than all fresh.

With a new job you may feel like you don’t have time to cook, but I always do it on weekends. Just a few ideas, I always go this route when my budget is feeling strained and lately – I’ve drastically cut the food bill. Hope this helps a bit!

TX Momma

JD,

I am not sure where you live and I know that affects food prices. I live in the TX. Our family of 8 can get by on $800 each month if we try. You may eat organic and such which would affect prices. Find Depression Era cookbooks. They give ideas for cheap meals. We have several and I have been looking through them more and more. Wishing you the best.

Uh, J.D. you’re paying way to much for what you’re eating for three people.
Contrary to what everyone seems to think, America is the land of cheap and abundant food. Research this on your own terms, change your eating habits without starving. I’ll bet you’re either eating out of a health food store or you’re eating a lot of processed and junky food, soda’s, eating out etc. Make a big pot of soup or stew with stuff you buy ON SALE and shop and do comparison pricing. Take your leftovers and add them to the next pot of stew and there you go. You can still live just fine, but it’ll be different. You’ll save money and probably be healthier.

karo

i have $ in the bank i want to pull out, but i have to do it in such small increments, i may not get it out before the sky falls. when i make a withdrawal, they ask me why i’m doing so, can you believe that?!!
if i do get it all out – what should i do with it, that is my ques??

007

I bet the federal reserve is watching this kind of behavior like a hawk. Everyone doing what you are doing is their worst nightmare. It’s totally legal to keep cash. In your records, be sure to document where you got it. Keep it in a very safe place. Believe it or not safe deposit boxes are not bad. If you have to put it back in your account to pay bills, do it in small increments and really document where it came from. You don’t want an IRS hasstle.

That being said it is starting to get very scary to have your money in the bank. A lot of risk and no return on your investment. Avoid money markets like the plague. They are heavily invested in the bankrupt European banks and countries and also not insured.

I have been through many hellish things in my life, many of them I created myself, a few I had no control over. The bottom line is that we learn to rise above the suffering, we learn to ride the waves instead of allowing the waves to drown us under a sea of depression. One thing I have learned is that there is certainly nothing new under the Sun, things may have a different shade of color, they may take on a new shape, but the evil among us is still the same old evils. The political atmosphere today sure makes one look at the fact that God warned Israel that it was not His will for man to have rulers over them, that was supposed to be the position of God and God alone.

Gary2

The thing that scares me the most is republicans cutting taxes on the rich even more while they pay for said cuts with cuts to programs for the poor. They are immoral scum

olde reb

What scares me the most is “progressives” who complain about the cost of food, utilities, and gas going up so much and then bewail government for not spending more money on make-work projects thru deficit spending that causes inflation. If ever there was a corrupt or unprofitable business, it probably has government financing. The first industry that received government subsidies was the railroads and they were all bankrupt by 1880.

MICHAEL ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THE FACTS YOU HAVE ON NUMBER #3 IT HAS BEEN ALONG TIME SINCE I HAVE SEEN BANK OF AMERICA’S STOCK THAT HIGH??? I THINK IT HAS BEEN HOVERING AROUND 10 AND BELOW FOR QUITE SOME WHILE.

You must be hallucinating. Bernanke just told Congress there is no inflation.

Jackro

Well, there is not any “inflation” from the way they measure it. For those of us in the real world, there is heavy inflation.

MerlinV12

On getting your money out of a bad bank:
Not all banks will collapse at once. Identify a strong bank by using the http://www.bankrate.com ratings, open an account, and write a check from your old bank to the new one for as much as you have. They can give you a hard time if you withdraw in cash, but they can’t dishonor your check unless they’ve actually gone under. There ARE five-star banks in the USA, you just have to find one and make the switch. That said, I still have friends who won’t go to the minimal effort of getting out of Bank of America. Ostriches !
Thankfully they are too far away to show up at my doorstep wanting sanctuary.

seejay

Unless there is REAL change in DC this will continue to get worse for years to come , there is going to be hyper-inflation very soon in the USA as the Fed keeps printing money out of thin air thus de valuating the Dollar, as that happens commodities such as oil get more expensive as it takes MORE dollars to buy the same quantities , this is passed on to the shippers who pass on the higher cost to buyers. Go look up what Lindsey Williams has been saying for years on youtube. The stores will be full of food nobody will be able to afford this will happen very very soon! It is already happening in France and other Euro-Countries right now! Ask someone from there!Time to throw all the bought and paid for politicians and fake Ken Doll candidates out and start all over , oh yeh no more lobbyists ,pass an anti-lobby corruption law and call it what it REALLY is , legalised corruption! The people we vote into office are responsible to answer to us NOT The lobbyists. The old way is broken and no hope of fixing the problems , time for a new approach!Ron Paul 2012

Wallace Klinck

Growing financial problems, both private and public, are the inevitable consequences of the centralized control of credit. The only safe place for power is in many hands and it properly would reside in the hands of consumers.

State debts have been expanding exponentially for our purposes since the fraudulent establishment of the Bank of England in 1694. “Debt ceiling” legislation is a fraud and a chimera. Nations require a growing source of money (in the modern age, viz., bank credit) in order not only to function but to progress and money today is only issued as a debt through bank lending. Certain critics are essentially correct in pointing out that such legislation does not at all accomplish its stated aims. It cannot–unless the public policy-makers decide to shut down the nation’s economy with accompanying general financial ruination and foreclosure upon real assets leading to blood in the streets. Moreover, “reckless” Government spending is unavoidable and inevitable because of the fundamental defect in the financial system which leads to an ever widening chasm between effective consumer incomes and industrial costs and prices. Increasingly redundant, irrelevant and destructive activity is required in order to feed “incomes” into this bogus financial chasm so that goods can be sold and industry may continue to recover its costs and function as a provider of goods and services. Of course this necessarily requires increased physical waste, continuous inflation of the general price level, increasing debt and taxation to service it (with accompanying expansion of state intervention) and increasing economic insecurity as technology (quite properly) replaces human input into production processes. So long as we maintain the current defective system of finance we have not seen anything yet in the nature of destructive outcomes. We are given a choice of being shot or boiled in oil and the time has long since passed when the general public must call an end to this monstrous fraud and abuse with its ultimate goal of centralized world political and economic power. The monopoly of credit creation as debt by the banking system must be broken by a supplementary flow of debt-free consumer credit introduced extraneously into the price-making system in order that the latter may be properly balanced with adequate effective consumer demand to allow all goods to be obtained with falling retail prices and without debt as these goods emanate from the production line. A mass production system requires a mass distribution system in order to function.

The more recent question of fraudulent financial derivatives and debt-financed speculation must not be allowed to cloud our understanding of the more fundamental underlying defect in the basic price-system where consequent to erroneous cost-accounting the existing price-system generates financial costs and prices in an ever greater volume relative to its distribution of effective consumer income capable of liquidating those costs of production–a chasm which expands increasingly with the replacement of human labour by non-human factors of production in the modernizing economy.

The real basis of credit creation for economic activity is the Real Credit of society, i.e., the ability to deliver goods and services, as, when and where required or desired. All things physically possible should and must be financially possible. There should be no artificial financial restrictions on human activity. There must be established an equation between real credit and financial credit or the ability to deliver money as, when and where required. This does not mean that we would want to do all things physically possible but that we should be financially enabled to do those things which we can do and might freely choose to do beyond the exercise of leisure. Man does not live by bread alone. Money in the modern world is simply financial accountancy. The latter as currently practiced is faulty and must be rectified.

The whole U.S. debacle over the debt is preposterous and pathetic–insane would be a better description. The succession of deficits is due to false accountancy that finances current consumption as a charge against future production. The inevitable collective deficits are incorporated into permanent and growing state debt. This debt is essentially represented by consumer purchasing-power that was wrongfully, or criminally, filched by the quite necessary inclusion in retail prices of allocated capital charges that increase final price but do not distribute in the same cost accountancy period equivalent unattached purchasing power to the consumer. The whole mad ritual of debating whether to continue state deficit spending or to curtail it in order to “balance the budget” is the inevitable consequence of a defective national accountancy which charges the consumer with capital depreciation while failing to credit the consumer with capital appreciation. The resulting increasing deficiency of purchasing-power can only be met under current financial convention by borrowing more and more via credit created as debt through bank loans. As stated above, we are given the choice of being shot or boiled in oil and nothing but honest book-keeping can rectify the situation in order to avoid an inevitable calamitous collision course with a tragic and ignominious destiny. That destiny is probably well-deserved by any nation so stupid or utterly perverse as to account its national assets as liabilities. The United States of America is physically an enormously rich nation, both actually and potentially. Personally, I think that the policy leaders in the Western world should either be placed in a mental institution or charged with treason for wilfully sabotaging the real credit (the physical ability to provide goods and services as., when and where required or desired) of their respective nations. We live in the midst of unprecedented potential and actual Abundance while thinking that we are poor because we view the world though the distorted glass of fraudulent and faulty financial conventions. Quite mad we are. Anyone can make a mistake but when we persist in following the same policy with repeated disastrous consequences surely the term “psychotic” becomes applicable. Is civilization to be destroyed merely because we genuflect before an evermore distorted numerical abstraction?

The main issue I think is the ownership of credit: Does it belong to the banks, the government or industry–or to the consuming public? When private assets are monetized by bank loans in order to allow the borrower to access the assets of the nation in order to create and/or activate real capital (as differentiated from financial “capital”) for the creation of goods and services, incomes are in fact distributed in the process and they do have a claim on the ultimate output of consumer goods as effective income. The problem is that in the capital-intensifiying modern economy where labour is being replaced quite properly with non-human factors of production the final prices generated by industry are increasingly greater than the effective income distributed in the same cycle of industrial cost-accountancy. Surely, it is this growing deficiency of consumer purchasing-power that should be compensated by the issue of non- ccost-creating (i.e., non- debt creating) consumer credits to enhance effective consumer income and to effect falling retail prices–thereby to balance the price-system. The concept is similar to homeostasis in physiology or sufficiency in engineering.

We surely want to distribute economic power to consumers so as to establish a genuinely consumer-motivated economy where production policy responds to consumer demand expressed through exercise of their “money-votes”. The founder of the Social Credit movement, Major Clifford Hugh Douglas, explained all of these issues beginning about ninety years ago in making his recommendations for the attainment of a genuine economic democracy as absolutely necessary as an accompaniment to political democracy. Unfortunately the world accepted the debt-based “economics” of John Maynard Keynes who some students believe plagiarized Douglas and turned his policies on their head. Keynes and Douglas knew each other’s position quite clearly inasmuch as they were contemporaries and appeared together at different venues including official government enquiries into the financial system. The final stage of the economic process is consumption and consumers should at all times be in possession of sufficient effective (i.e., cost cancelling) income to purchase the entirety of final output from the production line. The physical costs of all final products (i.e., the required human and non-human energy and materials) have been fully met when any product has been brought to completion as a consumer good. At that point, the consumer should be in possession of sufficient effective income to purchase all available new products and in doing so allow the producer to recover all financial costs incurred in production. There should be no need for overall national consumer debt whatsoever.

There are actually two forms of credit: 1) real credit being the ability to deliver goods and services as, when and where required or desired and 2) financial credit being the ability to deliver money as, when and where required. There must be established an equation between the two forms of credit.

William

The US economy is dropping BACK into a recession, although the recent recovery was quite anemic, making things appear to be unchanged from the days of the last recession.
This current drop back into a recession is already “cooked in”. There is NOTHING the US government or the FED can do to bring a recovery in time to help the average citizen. All the “bullets” have been expended.
This thing called a recession is a feedback cycle. Less income leads to less spending, which leads to less production, which leads to less employment, which leads to less spending.
I hope you have become a “prepper”.

Save the Republic

There was never a recovery, except for shareholder and corporate executive losses. It really wasn’t “recovered”, the money was just taken from the American citizens to cover the losses, i.e. stolen via tax dollars.

Gary2

1. The Top 1 Percent of Americans Owns 40 Percent of the Nation’s Wealth.

2. The Top 1 Percent of Americans Take Home 24 Percent of National Income.

3. The Top 1 Percent Of Americans Own Half of the Country’s Stocks, Bonds and Mutual Funds.

4. The Top 1 Percent Of Americans Have Only 5 Percent of the Nation’s Personal Debt.

5. The Top 1 Percent are Taking In More of the Nation’s Income Than at Any Other Time Since the 1920s.

Anyone who does not think we need to tax the rich and spread the wealth is deluded.

Sandy the Swede

What is your money worth? Or more specifically, “What will your money be worth one year from now? Five years from now?” The Greeks will find out first. The world monetary system based on the U.S. $ is ending (great big “Duh!”) What do you think its replacement will be?
Until that gets sorted out . . .
1. Water
2. Food
3. Fuel
4. Shelter/Land
5. Guns & ammo
6. Gold & silver

OBTW, Gary2, believing that one political party and members thereof are the problem is hilarious. You fit right in with some of my one-trick right wing buddies.

Hosanna

My husband who is ill keeps reminding me that if something happens to him I’ll be fine because he has left me in a good situation. But truthfully I am looking at that as a best-case scenario while preparing myself for much worse. It makes him feel better to think he is doing his best for me so I don’t argue with him. But deep down inside I know that my world may very likely turn upside down and his planning may be for naught.

So I’m getting myself into shape, paring down my possessions, I have three backpacks/rolling cases prepared in case of evacuation with order of importance, meaning this case gets jettisoned first, this one next, and the last backpack hang onto if at all possible.

If not, I don’t want to need any medications or very much food. I want to be able to hike 10 miles with a pack on my back, grow sprouts in a stream, identify edible wild foods, have barterable skills, and a good disposition.

In case none of these things are needed I will be grateful for the faithful and frugal planning of my dear husband. But should he get better and we need the money, I’m not counting on it either. We’ll live in a shack if we have to, or a camper or a tent community.

I have tried to talk to friends and family about this, some believe and some don’t. The young people I know do not want to know so I say nothing to them. They are young. If the worst happens their youth will be their greatest asset.

mark22

They’ve got to clean up the racial situation in Europe, too. They’ll need to move all non-whites out of Europe proper, and move them to a position that is at least as far south as 35° N. Latitude.

Straightening out the economic situation hardly matters if Europe eventually becomes like Pakistan in a racial sense.

The FRBNY handled $8.4 trillion from the auctions of Treasury securities in 2010. A minimum of $1.4 trillion (deficit spending) was clear profit. Maximum profit was $8.4. All profit from the Fed belongs to the government. The profit was hidden from Congress. It was not reported in the ANNUAL REPORT. It is a crime to hide money due the government. Ref. CRIMES OF THE FED, http://www.scribd.com/doc/62167283

James

Both parties are beholden to the Oligarchy …They don’t care about us and never will The Republicans don’t hide who they are the Democrats do hide who they are by making you feel they give a crap about you. None of this is good they want a surf Society this is what this is about. Socialism for the Rich and Capitalism for the middle class and poor …

Care to do some ballot petition work? All 50 states access will get this done.

We certainly cannot handle another 4 yrs of ANY politicians owned by lobbyists and the Fed Res.

Kevin2

Yep I said it 1000 times. 83% of US Senate Republicans voted for China Free Trade while 80% of US Senate Democrats did the same. Big difference LOL.

John Edwards loved to say how he worked in the textile mills. He fails to mention he voted for China Free Trade that in effect shipped those jobs to China. As bad as those mill towns were they are far worse now going from low end US manufacturing to no US manufacturing.

ha ha… one more food item I forgot to mention .. IF you live in the South – KUDZU is eatable! Yup, the old “plant that ate the South”~

The Japanese eat it, the stuff grows out of control as I’m sure you know. I haven’t tried it but an older friend of mine was married to a Japanese man before they both passed she showed me a Japanese cookbook with recipes.

Care to do some ballot petition work? All 50 states access will get this done.

We certainly cannot handle another 4 yrs of ANY politicians owned by lobbyists and the Fed Res.

Kim

Also besides taking money out of the bank for under the mattress…overpay your utilitiy, gas, water, phone, whatever,,so you have these services paid for months or a year in advance…great to have a credit on something you will use. Let your power company etc. hold your money rather than a bank. You get no interest in a bank anyway. Buy things you use when on sale,,buy 6 then when next cycle of sale comes around you’ll buy 6 more. Do not buy junk food or anything from a c-store…costs double, triple.. There are many thing to do to save money and be careful with it.

I still think a lot of this is being engineered behind the scenes in Europe for a fall that scares the world into a concern whether our way of civilization is doomed, but they will have enough control to bring it out of the tailspin once everyone is on board with drastic measures to but the world’s economy in their pocket. The real solution is to let the thing tank and we start over without usury and the fractional banking system and regional and national banking system.

We were sold into slavery with the 14 Amendment. We are chattel, we belong to the corporation of The United States of America, Incorporated.
Each of the 50 states are corporations also. They hold title to us. We do business for them, we generate wealth for them, we produce replacement slaves for them. They allow us to raise these replacement slaves and get to think they are our children.

Previous poster Wallace Klinch has taken what should be a farily simple notion of our current debt based monetary system and turned into some bit of nonesense that one might only hear in the ivory towers and halls of academia.
It’s babble likes his that keeps the workings of our monetary system a mystery to the voting public.

Lisa

This histrionic garbage does far more damage to the economy than the events the author is writing about. Most of this has little to no effect on the life of the average consumer, yet the average (largely uneducated in economics – or what I call “armchair economists”) consumer hears this, gets panicky, and withholds spending. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.
To the author – why on earth would you want to make things worse? You’re doing more damage to the economy and contributing to the slow recovery far more than the actual events about which you write. I did my thesis work on consumer confidence, stuff like this is worse than anything a bank could do.

Michael

Lisa:

It is imperative the the American people understand exactly how bad things have gotten.

This blog is a mirror that shows America what is really going on.

People will never understand that they need a doctor until they realize how sick they really are.

Our economy is dying and the American people need to wake up.

Michael

LvM

My largest share of expenditure is preparations for the economic collapse. I have never spent as much money as I have since I became convinced this system is unsustainable.

Anyway, I think you’re a little misguided here Lisa. Less consumer spending doesn’t cause an economic collapse, it’s physically impossible. Worst case it slows economic progress, nothing more. But that is just an effect, not a cause. Having debt inherently means that an individual or a country full of individuals lived beyond what is indefinitely sustainable. It is clear that this debt cannot be repaid (without serious money printing).

mondobeyondo

The American people are sick and tired.
Sick and tired of endless wars, endless unemployment, endless corporate bailouts, endless BS from politicians who claim to have our best interests in mind, tired of endless freaking fees, fees, and more fees. Have you flown on a major airline lately? They charge you for everything. They even charge you for using the restroom. (Yes. Ryanair does that.)

Plain and simple – we’re mad as hell and we’re not gonna take it anymore. So, we’re taking it to the streets. Occupy (Your Town Here), coming soon to a street near you!

We were hoodwinked into believing our financial system could be saved if we only bailed out the “too big to fails”. Well, we did. And now the banksters want even MORE?!?!! ($5.00 debit card fee from Bank of America, for example). Screw that!

Let ’em crash and burn. Most of us are so broke we can’t even pay attention. I barely have two seashells to rub together.

mondobeyondo

“Oh, but Mondobeyondo, you complain about lack of finances, when you have a computer accessing the Internet”, etc. ad nauseum.

Not really. Public library, baby!! Woo-hoo! One of the last truly free things available to the public.

Free book and DVD rentals, and they have computers with Internet access too! Just be sure to return your items on time. The library doesn’t like it when you keep books for 2-3 years.

I have to admit, I do have a cell phone. It’s not a Droid or Ewok or Darth though, or whatever the hell the newest model is now. Someday, I’m going to upgrade to an iPad.

So you who have now discovered economizing. Where have you been? Why did line drying your clothes, eating homemade cheap food and riding a bicycle go out of fashion. Good economy or bad, when I’m making lots of money or little or none, I have lived like this and my household economy has been the same for the last 40 years. I always save, I have always done these things and I’m “well off.” Maybe if many of our population and our country at large lived like this (as many people do all over the world) and even when you’re doing well, you live as though you aren’t, maybe we wouldn’t be in the fix we’re in.

DB200

“Repeat after me:

THERE WILL BE NO FISCAL UNION.

THERE WILL BE NO EUROBONDS.

THERE WILL BE NO DEBT POOL.

THERE WILL BE NO EU TREASURY.

THERE WILL BE NO FISCAL TRANSFERS IN PERPETUITY.

THERE WILL BE A STABILITY UNION – OR NO MONETARY UNION.”

This would mean no United States of Europe? Can’t imagine that the Illuminati/Bilderberg Group etc. are going to accept this. What then would be their plan?

Why are there no date stamps on the main blog entries? This entry makes statements like “On Monday the Dow was down…” with no date for context. The only way to get date context seems to be to go to each “reply” page and find the date of the oldest comment.

Jeremiah Johnson

You know, it never hurts to be responsible and save up a little extra dry goods. People like myself who live out in the country are prepared to support ourselves and do; there’s no peace of mind being over-leveraged and overwhelmed with debt. The American Dream is this: living within your means with no debt and not being dependent on the government for support. The pipe dream is over and it’s time to live responsibly. Character forged in the fires of adversity, as John Adams used to say. That’s what made our country great, not welfarism. Sorry if I sound cold. It’ll all work out, and we will all be stronger for it.

Lyle Courtsal

How will we get through this? By helping each other. Who knows the most about that? The elderly, the disabled, the homeless, and the unemployed, with those alienated from the mainstream of fascist Amerikkka most useful. We know because we have been there for the last 20-40 years in the nightmare post 1980 when the first coup against the Bill of Rights was done. Budget cuts were primary cause of post 80’s recession/slow mass kill program. Remember that collapse? No because middle class not that affected that time. Only poor people alienated/rejected once again by minstream middle class white amerikkka. That’s when drug war started though, and consumption of cocaine went from 46 tons/yr to 300 tons/yr. for US; Drug war worked great for the Bushs; lots of people to steal from using civil forfeiture. And on downhill it goes from there with policiies of both parties laying foundation for present collapse/slow mass kill program of voiceless and defenseless.
Amerikkka never had adequate amount of good family wage jobs with benefits; therefore tax welfare became necessary for poor as well. Roots of present crisis found in consequences of budget cuts and economic de-regulation of economy 1982-3. Corporations limited economic options, killed local-regional economy and mom and pop businesses and social fabric along with it. Drug war stole Grandma’s house using phony trumped up conspiracy charges. Marijuana enforcement made higher priority than killer addictives; doesn’t kill anyone, therefore must keep it out of black market. Now collusive arrangements made high level; arrogance and stupidity is order of the day for Wall street scammers. 1,000 point crash in four hours on e-traded markets; now there are delays so emotions don’t run wild in fascist collapse where procession caterpillars on wall street don’t follow each other over the cliff like they have done so many times before; chasing the new money scams and instruments while preying on each other. Meanwhile situation worsens as too much mobile capital is controlled by less moral brains and stress conditioned heartless automatons doing what system has programmed them to do so well; fail to create a future as debt speculation is paid off with shorter and shorter term deals.
Still there are opportunities, just not in mainstream US businesses; stable local/regional markets and opportunities are there; it’s just that everyone hates hippies now; why do you think you have been taught to hate us? Because we stayed who we wanted to be for many, many years beyond what 50’s era yuppies who didn’t resist then wanted us to live out our culture. Sound familiar? 16 million dead native americans and white corporate amerikkka is still killing them off, even more than the canadians. See, they got a way of life; we don’t. Lyle Courtsal

ALbert Florez

I am very sorry to tell you all that the truth is not truth,this is not a recession it is very real depression were we are at today. We are traveling at mock speed hang on every one we can ride this out in peace spirit help us all.